Managing disputes

The eBay case resolution process

The Resolution Centre plays a major part in the case resolution process. It's a central place for buyers and sellers to communicate to resolve issues or concerns about transactions, such as unpaid items or cancelling transactions. The resolution process follows a few basic steps:

1

The buyer opens a request
A buyer contacts a seller through the Resolution Centre about any questions or issues with items either not received or not as described.

2

Respond to the buyer
Communicate with the buyer to find a mutually satisfactory solution. We recommend that sellers respond to requests within 3 business days.

3

The case is closed, or eBay is asked to step in
If you’re able to work things out with the buyer, the case will be closed. If not, either you or the buyer can ask eBay to step in and help.

The Resolution Centre will guide you through resolving common selling problems, such as unpaid items and cancelling transactions.

Handling unpaid items

If you don’t receive payment for an item you’ve sold, you should contact the buyer first to better understand their situation. If they don’t respond, or if you can’t work things out, you can use the Resolution Centre to open an unpaid item case. This should prompt the buyer to pay. You can save time by using the Unpaid Item Assistant to open and close unpaid item cases for you automatically when you don't receive payment for an item.

When an unpaid item is recorded against a buyer, they’re blocked from leaving feedback for that transaction, and we’ll remove any negative feedback they may have left already. Buyers who show a pattern of not paying for items may have their buying privileges limited, or lose them altogether. You may also be eligible for a final value fee credit.

Cancelling a transaction

Occasionally, you may need to cancel a transaction. In these cases, you should contact the buyer to let them know you’re cancelling the transaction, and why.

Here’s how to cancel a transaction:

Go to My eBay > Sold and locate the item.

In the More actions drop-down menu, select Cancel this order.

Choose a reason for the cancellation, and follow the instructions.

Remember, you can’t cancel a transaction if you’ve already shipped the item, or if you or your buyer have opened a request related to the item. Seller-cancelled transactions may also result in a defect and count against your seller level, so try to avoid cancelling transactions if you have any other options.

Reporting a buyer

If you ever have a problem selling on eBay, we want to know about it. We can learn a lot about buyer behaviour from our detection systems, but we can’t see everything. That’s why we need your help to spot buyers who violate our policies. The Report a buyer section of the Resolution Centre makes it easy to report problems in just a few clicks.

eBay uses your reports as part of our monitoring system to help identify buying behaviour issues. Your reports help us take action to protect you—including removing any negative or neutral feedback and low detailed seller ratings—in cases where buyers are not adhering to our buying practices policy.

Once you’ve confirmed that the buyer is breaking the rules, report the buyer. Visit ebay.ca/reportabuyer and submit a report.

eBay Money Back Guarantee

The eBay Money Back Guarantee allows buyers to shop with confidence. When buyers pay for an eligible item using PayPal or a credit card, they can get their money back for an item that’s not received or not as described.

The eBay Money Back Guarantee process is used by buyers and sellers to resolve concerns over an order. The process can either be resolved by buyers and sellers working together, or by asking eBay to step in and help. As a seller, the eBay Money Back Guarantee gives you a process to resolve buyer concerns and make things right.

How the eBay Money Back Guarantee process works

1

A request is opened.Buyers can open a request up to 30 days after the estimated delivery date of an item that was not received or not as described.

2

The seller has three business days to respond.You may wish to offer a replacement item, or a full or partial refund. If the buyer accepts your resolution, the request can be closed.

3

If the buyer doesn’t accept your resolution, eBay may step in and help.
If the issue hasn’t been resolved within three business days of the request, eBay will review the case within 48 hours.

4

eBay decides on an outcome.
If eBay decides in the buyer's favour, we may refund the buyer’s money. If the seller can prove that the item was delivered or was as described, eBay will cover the refund.

eBay Money Back Guarantee cases will affect your seller level if eBay is asked to step in and help, and finds in favour of the buyer. Learn more about protecting your seller level.

The eBay Money Back Guarantee is designed to inspire buyer confidence and streamline the resolution process. It encourages buyers to think of eBay as a trusted marketplace they’ll return to again and again—meaning more potential customers for your business.